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Falcons jolt Bears with last-second FG

Oct 12, 2008 - 10:04 PM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Rookie Matt Ryan engineered an improbable comeback in an improbable season for the surprising Atlanta Falcons.

Ryan hit Michael Jenkins with a 26-yard completion with one second remaining to set up a 48-yard field goal by Jason Elam as the Atlanta Falcons escaped with a 22-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at the Georgia Dome.

Ryan completed 22-of-29 passes for a career-best 301 yards and a touchdown and Roddy White had nine receptions for 112 yards and a score for the Falcons (4-2), who moved into a three-way tie atop the NFC South Division.

"What a fantastic game," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "It was a true 60-minute game. ... This was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen."

The 2008 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the downtrodden Falcons organization, which was dealt a serious setback after former franchise quarterback Michael Vick was convicted on dogfighting-related charges and coach Bobby Petrino quit on the team before the end of the 2007 campaign.

There was no quit by Ryan and the Falcons on Sunday.

"Our football team stayed on task for 60 minutes," Smith said. "When you do that, you're going to like the outcome the majority of the time."

Atlanta held a 19-13 lead and was poised to put the game away in the final three minutes, but Elam's 33-yard attempt sailed wide left and Chicago took over on downs.

Kyle Orton engineered an 11-play, 77-yard drive to put the Bears ahead, 20-19, finding Rashied Davis in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining.

But Harry Douglas pounced upon Robbie Gould's squib kick and advanced the ball to the Falcons 40 with six seconds remaining before Ryan, the third overall pick, worked his magic.

Playing with much more poise than a rookie characteristically does, Ryan found Jenkins on a sideline pattern and the wideout got out of bounds with one second left, leaving Elam enough time to redeem himself.

"I was as shocked as anybody," said Elam. "You go on the field and try to make it like any other kick."

The kick was no problem for the 38-year-old veteran, who has won or tied 25 games in the game's waning seconds.

"He's hit a lot of game-winners in his career," Smith said. "I guess he wanted to hit another (one)."

Elam's 48-yarder - his fifth field goal of the game - sailed through the uprights to keep the Falcons, who were picked by many to be a doormat in the NFC South, unbeaten in three home games.

"I was pretty down on the sidelines," Elam admitted before he was given the second chance. "A 48-yarder, there's not a lot of room for error. It started right and moved around the post. I was really happy, really, really happy."

Not quite as happy as Ryan.

The 23-year-old erupted in jubilation as the kick went through, jumping into the arms of his first-year coach.

"I am just still a kid," Ryan joked. "When you're out there playing, you still feel 10, 11, 12 years old. I did everything. I crossed my fingers hoping it would go through. Jason made a great kick. It was extra clutch in that situation."

"Things like that happen," said Davis, who thought that his touchdown reception would be the difference in this one. "It's football and the game is not over till the clock hits zero. They got a good bounce (on the kickoff), had a nice catch and took advantage and won the game."

It was a stunning loss for the Bears, who fell to 3-3.

"(It's) tough, very tough," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "I wish I had more words to show you how bad it really is. When you have setbacks like this, it hurts. We had victory in our grasp and couldn't pull it out."

His statements were echoed by his quarterback.

"We have had three tough losses, but that is just how it goes," Orton said. "This is a tough one on the road. You have to play extremely well and we didn't do that the entire game."

Ryan guided the Falcons to four field goals over the first three quarters before seemingly putting the game away with an impressive 10-play, 76 yard drive in the fourth quarter.

The former Boston College standout kept the drive alive by finding a wide-open Douglas down the middle of the field for a 47-yard completion on 3rd-and-9 from the Falcons 25 before finding White down the right sideline with a 26-yard completion to bring the ball to the Bears 17.

Five plays later, Ryan found White in the end zone to give Atlanta 19-10 cushion.

The Bears drove the ball down to the 1-yard line on the ensuing possession, but the Falcons defense held them, stopping fullback Jason McKie on 3rd-and-goal before Keith Brooking stuffed Matt Forte on fourth down.

"I think it was just an attitude and a mentality to get down there," Brooking said. "Defensively, you just have to bow up and believe you're going to get the job done."

Gould nailed a field goal to cut the lead to six with 4:00 on Chicago's next possession.

Orton finished 26-for-43 with 286 yards and a TD and Forte rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries with one TD for the Bears (3-3).

Atlanta rumbled out to a 9-0 lead on field goals of 29, 48 and 32 yards by Elam before Gould nailed a 36-yarder to cut the lead to 9-3.

Elam extended the cushion to 12-3 with a 41-yarder on Atlanta's first possession of the second half, but Forte cut the lead to 12-10 on a 3-yard TD run with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter.